Caracterização do meio físico da microbacia quatro bocas, em Angelim, PE, e sua quantificação por sistema de informação geográfica

The objectives of this paper were to characterize the physical environment of a watershed and to use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to evaluate: area by soil class; area by soil class and slope; area by soil class, slope and current land use. Additionally some considerations about the watershed planning are also made. The basic information layers used were: soils map, slope map and current land use map (year of 1989). The soils presented a high deficiency of natural fertility with the Red-Yellow Podzolic soil (Abruptic Plinthaqult) occupying 87% of the area, mostly in accentuated slopes favoring, therefore, the erosion process, posing difficulties to the mechanization and requiring special care regarding its use and management. The Dystrophic Regosol (Arenic Entisol) and the Dystrophic Alluvial (Fluvic Entisol) soils represent 13% of the area in a relief suitable to the establishment of annual crops.